Vacuum feed device



April 9, 1929. J. A. H. BARKEIJ VACUUM FEE-D DEVICE Filed July 16, 1925 Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

JEAlil A. H. BARKEIJ', OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

VACUUM FEED DEVICE.

Application filed July 16, 1925. Serial No. 44,129.

This invention relates to liquid fuel systems for explosive engines and it is particularly useful as an accessory to automobile and truck engines.

My primary object is to eliminate the complicated valve mechanisms and delicate construction in existing devices, reducing the number of valves to one.

My second object is to provide a sudden change between the partial vacuum condition and the atmospheric pressure condition.

Realizing that the present condition may be embodied in constructions other than those specifically shown and described, I desire that the disclosure herewith shall be considered as illustrative and not in the limiting sense.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a vacuum feed device.

Fig. 2 shows a modified form of the vacuum chamber together with an additional air vent and a ball valve.

Fig. 3 shows another modified form of the vacuum chamber together with a fiat air valve and an additional air vent.

Referring to the drawings, in Fig. 1,1 is a vacuum or receiving tank, 2 is a gravity or feeding tank, 3 is an air valve, 4c is the seat for the air valve, 5 is a passage way for the valve stem 6 connecting rigidly said valve with a float, 8 is an additional open air vent, in constant communication with the suction line 9. 7, 9 is a pipe line connecting the inlet manifold of a motor or any suitable source of suction with the vacuum chamber. 10 is an air vent for the gravity tank, 11 is an elbow, with a hinge or fulcrum 12 for a flap valve 18 to operate dependent upon the pressure in the vacuum tank. 1% is a feed pipe leading towards the carburetor 15. 16 is a, feed pipe from the fuel tank, usually placed 111 the rear of the vehicle at a point below said vacuum tank, is well known in the art.

The operation of the device is fundamentally different from the existing types. The partial vacuumis suspended not by closing the suction pipe but by opening an air vent, so that the atmospheric pressure is furnished quicker than it is taken away from the source greater than the area oil the suction pipe 9. I prefer to connect the latter pipe directly to the passage 5' near he valve seat 1 in order to prevent any fuel being taken from the re ceiving chamberinstead otair. This is of particular importance in thls system, where of suction. The area of the passageway 5 is.

the motor sucks most of the time a little stream of air by way of the vacuum tank. The valve stem 6 has to be sufiiciently long to establish a suflicient distance between the level of the fuel and the passageway 5.

The operation with an empty vacuum tank and a fuel low-level reservoir is as follows, considering for a moment that the air vent 8 is eliminated. The electric starter turns the engine, the float presses the valve 3 on its seat i. A partial vacuum is created in chamber 1. The float rises by the incoming fluid high enough to raise the valve 3 from its seat 4, and as the inlet area of passage way 5 is greater than that of suction pipe 9, no partial vacuum will be created and instead thereof the fluid will open by its gravity the flap valve 13 in the elbow 11 and feed towards the gravity tank 2, from which a pipe line 1% feeds it towards the carburetor 15. i In fact the fluid has to rise to a higher level in order to open the valve 3 than would be necessary it there were no difference of pressure below and above the valve 3, and on the other hand, after the buoyancy of the float has opened the air valve and the fluid has dropped towards the tank 2 and the valve 3 has approached again its seat a, then the difference of pressure below and above valve 3 will press the float down a little in the fluid. This sudden change both ways between the vacuum producing position and the atmospheric pressure.condition, causes a. positive action and prevents the valve from lluttering or chattering. The valve has no tendency to stick as there is no mechanism to open and close two valves or two openings at the same time as in the prior art. The amount of air which will besucked continuously through pipe 9 does not affect appreciably even the idling ot the motor of a small passenger car, although the nature of the mixture has to be a little richer to compensate for the extra air. In case another source of suction used this effect upon the miX- turc will be entirely avoided.

Referring to Fig. 2 it is seen that this vacuum tank (lifters from that in Fig. 1 in tour respects. The suction pipe 9 provided with a valve 21 is not connected with the passage way 5 but simply ends into the head of the tank 1. The valve is not conical but spherical and an air vent of very small diameter is provided at 8. The form of the tank is such that the horizontal cross section increases rapidly from the bottom towards the top.

This is' done for special conditions, in which it is desirable that only a greater quantity of fuel will act upon the valve 3 thanin Fig. 1 or another modified form of the vacuum tank as shown in Fig. 3.

The advantage of having the air vent'8 is that'in case the engine is stopped, when the valve 3 is seated, that said air vent will allow the fuel to ravitate towards th carbu- I a: F v y retor. The va ve closes the air passages o by'the weight o f the float so securely that no air mightenter if the suction pipe 9 1s connected with a solirceof suction which would.

not admit air when the engine stops running. The disadvantage might be supposed to be that the vacuum might be impaired too much, but that is not the case even if the pipe 9 is connected with the manifold of the engine instead Qfwith a stronger source of suction. "Even at high engine speeds when thevacunm is little, the air vent 8 might even increase the suction and the vacuum in the tank 1 if placed in close proximity thereto. If the valve begins to unseat, the part al vacuum is quicker eliminated as the air vent will help toincrease the volume of air so aflat valve 3 is provided inst ad of a conical orspherical valve, the suction pipe is provided with device to decrease or increase the area of the pipe 9 by turning the wing screw 21. This valve, like the one in Fig.2 may have'the same function asthe valve 3 in effooting an atmospheric and subatmospheric pressure in said tank and may have of course the same function of interrupting the com munication betweentheadditional air vent 8 and the suction connection 9 by connecting it operatively with the movement of the float, which latter construction is well known in the prior art. Whether the cooperating function between these two connections is interrupted from one side or the other makes little difference. 7

The valve 3 when seated has a top surface exposed to the atmosphere considerably in excess of the undersurface exposed to the partial vacuum in the tank 1. Theprcssures on I either side of'the valve differ therefore not proportional tothe pressures on either side of this valve, but the pressure on the top side of thevalve is so much greater in proportion to the. respective areas.

exert a greater pressure to lift the valve 3' from its'seat 4, and the valve approaching The float has to the valve seat closely, will suddenly press the float a little in the fluid when closing. The upper surface should be smaller in proportion than the maximnm buoyance of the float, The form of the float and tank is the reverse of that shown in Fig. .2. A small quantity of gasoline will act upon the valve 3 as the horizontal cross section. decreases rapidly towards the top of the tank. The gravity tank is entirely dispensed with in this arrangement and only a single chamber constitutes both vacuum and gravity tank. The pipe 9 is supposed to be connected with a source of suction of such a power that the amount out fluid will be replenished almost instantly so that the interruption of gravity flow to the carburetor during the time of filling the vacuum chamber will be of such a short duration that it will not aflcct the proper functioning of the carburetor. The special form of the tank is of great help towards this purpose. It is however understood that this arrangement can be combined with the gravity tank of Figs. 1 and 2,e(p1ally as the additional air vent 8 may be combined with the arrangement of Fig. 1.

The disc 17 is sucked upwardly against the seat 18 and it will, as soon as the valve 3 opens by the buoyancy of the float 7, be opened by the gravity of the fluid in chamber 1. The disc 17 seats downwardly on a ring 19 provided with holes to establish the necessary communication with pipe 20 which will be of ample diameter to act as a reservoir.

I claim:

1, A vacuum feed device comprising a chamber having a suction connection in constant communication therewith, a valve controlled atmospheric connection, a liquid fuel supply connection, and a valve controlled liquid fuel outlet, an additional continuously "open air vent in constant communication wit 1 said suction connection during the entire operation of said vacuum tank to increase the suction; said first valve actuated by the change of the liquid level in said chamber, said second valve actuated by the closed and open position of said first valve.

2. A vacuum feed device comprising a chamber having a permanent suction connection, a valve controlled atmospheric connection, a second continuously open air vent, a liquidfuelsupply andavalve-controlledliquid fuel outlet, said first valve actuated by the change of the liquid level in said chamber and a float having connections by which the float operates said valve.

3. A vacuum feed device comprising a receiving vacuum chamber, and'a gravity chamber, a valve controlled connection between said'two chambers, a fuel outlet for said gravity chamber and a continuouslv open air vent to drain said fuel from said chamber, a continuously open vacuum connection for said vacuum chamber and a continuously open air vent for said chamber, a fuel inlet connection for said vacuum chamber, said latter air connection being in constant communication With said vacuum connection to increase the suction of said latter connection; a valve con-c trolled atmospheric connection, said latter valve operated by the level of the liquid in said vacuum chamber.

4. A vacuum feed device comprising a vacuum chamber and a gravity chamber, a valve controlled connection between said chambers, continuously open air vents for said gravity chamber and for said vacuum chamber, a continuously open fuel outlet for said gravity chamber; a valve controlled fuel outlet for said vacuum chamber; a fuel inlet and a vacuum connection in said vacuum chamber in constant communication With said continuously open air vent at least during the filling of said chamber through said fuel inlet; additional means to effect an atmospheric and subatmospheric pressure in said vacuum chamber, said means operated by the level of the fluid 1 said vacuum chamber.

JEAN A. H. BARKEIJ. 

